Something that is often quoted in marketing circles, is that people tend to buy from those they know, like and trust.
Are you searching for cost-effective ways to grow your business online and get people to stay longer on your site? Then something you can do, is make it easier for your prospects to get to know you, your team and your business better.
If you use WordPress, one way to easily help visitors get to know you better is to display information about your key people, your business team, or your employees using a staff list plugin.
In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to create and add an easy-to-maintain list of employees in WordPress using free WP plugins.
Step-By-Step Tutorial: How To Easily Add An Employee Directory To WordPress
In this tutorial, we will install, activate and configure a no cost plugin called Simple Staff List.
Simple Staff List Plugin For WordPress
(Simple Staff List WordPress Plugin)
The Simple Staff List plugin is a no cost plugin that lets you employee.
First, let’s install and activate the plugin.
Log into your WP dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New …
(Plugins Menu – Add New)
In the Plugins panel, search for “simple staff plugin”. This will bring up the Simple Staff Plugin in your plugin search results.
Click on the Install Now button …
(Plugins – plugin search results)
Click the Activate Plugin link …
(Activate plugin)
After installing and activating the plugin, you will see that a new menu will appear on the main WP admin menu called Staff Members …
(Staff Members)
All of the options and settings for this plugin are configured and managed in this menu.
Configuring The Simple Staff List Plugin
Depending on the size of your team and how you want to structure your staff directory, you could start adding new staff members after installing the plugin, or create several groups (i.e. categories) to place your individualmembers into.
Staff Members – Groups
Let’s configure your directory groups. From your WP dashboard menu, select Staff Members > Groups …
(Staff Members Menu – Groups)
The Groups screen …
(Groups area)
Note: Setting up groups is just like configuring WordPress categories …
(Groups work just like categories)
Create new groups by entering the following information:
- Group Name – Enter your group name here
- Slug – Type in the slug of your category. Note: make sure that all letters are in lower case and use hyphens instead of spaces.
- Parent – Use this drop-down menu if you plan to set up a directory hierarchy
- Description – Type in the group description in this field (optional)
- Click Add New Group when done to set up your new category …
(Groups screen)
If you run a business that employs many people, having the ability to create categories can be very useful. For example, you can create a category for founders, developers, faculties, etc.
Create as many categories and nested categories as you need by adding new Groups and then using the Parent drop-down menu to assign these to a hierarchical structure …
(Nested groups)
Remember to click on the Add New Group button after creating new items …
To edit Groups for specific entries, hover over a category title and click on the Edit link …
The selected category details will open in the Edit Group page. Select a new group from the Parent dropdown menu …
(Edit Group screen)
Click the Update button to save your changes …
To edit your Group name or slug, hover over the group name and click on the Quick Edit menu feature …
Click Update Group after making changes …
Add as many groups as you need to until you are done creating your directory structure …
Add as many nested categories as you like …
(Nested groups)
After you have finished setting up your hierarchical structure, you can start to add staff details to your directory.
Staff Members – Add New
In your admin menu, select Staff Members > Add New …
(Staff Members Menu – Add New)
This opens up the Add New Staff Member screen in your web browser …
(Add New Staff Member settings screen)
This area provides you with an easy-to-use interface for adding your staff member information and includes the following fields:
Name Section (1)
- Name: Add your staff member’s name
- Permalink: You can modify each staff members’ permalink URL (this section appears after saving your details).
Staff Photo Section (2)
- Photo: Add a photo here
Staff Member Info Section (3)
- Position: Type the staff member’s role
- Email: Enter your staff member’s email
- Phone Number: Type the staff member’s phone number
- Facebook URL: Add your company’s Facebook address here (note: use the full URL, e.g. http://www.facebook.com/username)
- Twitter URL: Add your company’s Twitter username (note: only enter the username, not the full twitter URL)
Staff Member Bio Section (4)
- Staff Member Bio: Type in a profile description for your employee or team member here. As this uses the WordPress Text Editor, you can add formatting to the content entered into this section.
Groups Section (5)
- Groups: You can assign your employee to a specific group (see the previous section of this tutorial to learn how to set up your groups).
If you click on the Screen Options tab at the top of the screen …
(Screen options)
You will see options to enable additional page settings …
(Enable additional fields in screen options)
Now that you know what each section does, enter each employee’s details …
(Add Staff Member fields)
After you have entered details, assign your entry to a directory group in the Groups section located in the sidebar …
(Groups box)
Note: If you have not set up groups before starting to add staff member details, you can add a new group in this screen by clicking on Groups > + Add New Group …
(Add a new group inside your Groups box)
A field will appear allowing you to enter a new group name, with a drop-down menu to assign your new entry to a parent group. Type in the name of your new group and click on the Add New Group button …
Your new directory category will be created. Make sure that the check box is ticked …
(Groups box)
Note: Groups cannot be edited when new employee details are being added or edited. To edit an item, go to the Groups section of the plugin’s settings (see “Groups” section of the tutorial above for details).
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After filling in the person’s details, click the Publish button …
Click View Post …
You can update the staff member’s profile by clicking the Edit Staff Member link in your WordPress admin toolbar …
(Edit Staff Member link – WP admin toolbar)
We have written a detailed tutorial about using the dashboard admin toolbar here:
Note: If ’not found’ page errors like the one shown in the example below shows up, check that your permalinks have been set up correctly …
(Not found error – Check your permalinks)
If you need help setting up WP permalinks, go here:
Repeat the above process to add new members to your employee directory directory.
Staff Members – All Staff Members
After entering employees to your directory, you can view and edit details by choosing Staff Members > All Staff Members in the WordPress admin menu …
(Staff Members Menu – All Staff Members)
This brings up a list displaying all the directory items and all details you have added with each entry …
(Staff Members table)
If you need to modify an individual’s entry, simply hover your mouse over their list name, and a menu will appear.
Click on Edit if you want to modify their Staff Bio, or Quick Edit to change details such as their name, slug, group, and publish status. You can also delete an entry from the employee directory by clicking on Trash, or view the entry on your site by selecting View …
(Edit Staff Members profile)
Depending on what you are using the plugin for, your table can get quite long.
You can use the Search Staff Members search feature to find listing items if required …
(Search Staff Members search field)
You can specify which fields to display in this section. To hide or hide fields on your screen, click on Screen Options …
(Screen Options)
Tick or untick the checkboxes to display or hide specific fields. You can also select how many staff members are listed per page. Click the Apply button when finished to save your screen options …
Staff Members – Order
The Simple Staff List plugin also features a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to arrange the order in which entries appear on your directory page.
Choose Staff Members > Order in your main menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To rearrange the order of your items, click and drag the entry to its desired position …
(Reorder staff listings using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reorganized …
(Reordered list)
After adding all members’ details to the directory, the next step is to add the directory to your visitors.
Staff Members – Order
Simple Staff List also features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you arrange the order that your employees appear on your directory pages.
Click Staff Members > Order in your menu …
(Staff Members – Order)
To reorder your entries, click and drag the entry to a new position …
(Reorder items using drag and drop)
Your list will be automatically reordered …
(Reordered list)
After adding all employees’ listing details to your directory, the next step is to display the directory to your site users.
Simple Staff List – Additional Notes
The Simple Staff List plugin lets you edit the layout and style of your directory entries using template tags and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Templates Menu
To customize the style and layout of your directory, select Staff Members > Templates from the menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Templates)
This brings up the Templates page …
(Customize your directory template)
To customize your directory listings, reorganize any of the allowable template tags inside the [staff_loop] [/staff_loop] code.
For example, here is a screenshot of the default template used for displaying directory listings …
(Default Template)
The above code displays the listing shown below …
(Default Plugin Staff Loop Template Listing)
Notice that no Facebook or Twitter URLs are showing in the above listing. To make these fields display in the directory, we will need to include the [staff-facebook] and [staff-twitter] tags in the template, as shown in the example below …
(Template tags can be added to the Staff Loop Template to customize your listings page)
Here is what your listings page should now look like …
(Directory with social media links)
Note: If you want to customize your directory listings but don’t want to mess around with template tags or are unsure of what to do, please contact us for assistance.
Usage Menu
In addition to being able to customize your directory templates, the Simple Staff List plugin allows you to display your staff profiles differently using modified shortcodes.
In your dashboard menu, choose Staff Members >Usage …
(Staff Members – Usage)
This opens the Usage page …
(Usage Shortcode screen)
This screen provides a list of all different shortcode variations that the plugin allows you to use.
A useful variation you can insert in your page, for example, to display a list of persons belonging only to a specific group is the shortcode [simple-staff-list group=”group name”], (e.g.:[simple-staff-list group=”sales managers”])
Or, you can display listings in ascending or descending order by adding the shortcode [simple-staff-list order=”DESC”] (descending).
Options Menu
Choose Staff Members >Options on your menu …
(Staff Members Menu – Options)
This brings up the Options screen …
(Simple Staff List – customizable fields)
This section lets you change some of the labels used in the plugin
Finally, you can also export your staff members details by going to the menu and choosing Tools > Export …
(Export Staff Members plugin information)
If you need additional information about the plugin, visit the Simple Staff List support page.
Other Employee Directory Plugins For WordPress
Simple Staff List is not the only WordPress employee directory plugin you can use. For example, here are a few other free plugins you can look at to add a directory on your website:
Modern Team Staff Directory
(Modern Team Staff Directory)
This plugin helps you collect your team information and showcase it anywhere on your site in beautiful grids, columns and tables. This premium plugin features over a dozen presets and provides editors that make it easy to edit and update your directory.
(Modern Team Staff Directory – Responsive Templates)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Staff Directory
(Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
With Staff Directory, you can easily create a directory of staff/team/faculty members. The plugin supports staff categories and can be used for companies, schools, etc.
This plugin also lets you add custom fields …
(Custom Details Fields Screen. Screenshot source: Staff Directory website)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Faculty And Staff Directory
(Faculty And Staff Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin provides a simple and flexible faculty and staff directory for a small college or university.
The plugin also installs a widget that allows you to feature profiles in a widget area.
Go here to learn more:
Company Directory
(Company Directory – Plugin For WordPress)
Company Directory gives you an easy way to add your employees to your website. Different layouts are available, including grid and single views, plus as fields like position title, email, phone number, image and bio, allowing visitors to get to know your company and capabilities.
Visitors will be able to click through from your list, grid, and table views to read more about each staff member in a customizable single view …
(Display your staff and faculty in an easy to view format. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
This plugin uses simple shortcodes.
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Employee Spotlight
(Employee Spotlight – WordPress Plugin)
Employee Spotlight displays staff members, founders or just a single person in a 4-column circle grid page. This page can be easily created with a setup assistant on plugin activation.
This plugin includes two sidebar widgets that let you display featured and recent employees, and two responsive views which adjust to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
Detailed information about each staff member can be displayed in their own page, as well as in summary …
(Responsive layout with circle grid. Screenshot sourced from plugin website)
More info:
Staffer
(Staffer – Plugin For WordPress)
Staffer uses custom post types for staff management and supports the display of staff members via a shortcode, allowing you to easily create and manage an online staff directory …
(Staffer archive page. Screenshot source: Staffer plugin website)
Staffer works with almost all WordPress themes, and also allows for custom template use and custom content wrappers.
Learn more about the plugin here:
If the directory plugins listed above aren’t what you’re looking for, just go online or visit the WordPress plugin directory and search for:
- Add Staff Directory To WordPress
- WordPress Staff List
- Staff Directory WordPress Plugin
- Staff Plugin WordPress
- etc.
Hopefully, this tutorial has shown you how to create and add an easy-to-update staff directory in WordPress.
Models used to portray fictitious staff members in this tutorial were sourced under creative commons license from pixabay.com
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group